Communicating Safety

Abstract

This case study examines the 2021 cyberattack on a water treatment plant in Oldsmar, Florida, to explore how definitions of infrastructure shape public perception, funding priorities, and the distribution of risk. The incident, in which hackers exploited outdated software and weak security practices to increase the lye levels in the city’s drinking water, underscores the vulnerability of critical infrastructure to digital threats. Although no harm occurred due to system redundancies, the event revealed alarming gaps in cybersecurity, risk communication, and resilience planning. The case raises fundamental questions about what counts as infrastructure—whether it includes only physical objects like roads and bridges or also human and digital systems that support essential services. It also highlights how failing infrastructure disproportionately impacts vulnerable communities, whose experiences often go undocumented or ignored. By analyzing media framing, governmental response, and the contested terrain of infrastructural investment, this case challenges students to consider the ethics of infrastructural neglect, the invisibility of systemic risk, and the need for inclusive, forward-looking definitions of public safety in the digital age.